Well, it has been awhile since I posted here...time for an update. My experiment got turned a little sideways because a friend begged me to take a few plants that he had no room for...his loss, my gain!
Here are some photos of the plants that I originally started, along with some new clones and a few older clones as well. So far I'm really happy with the LED lights in the veg., and now soon I plan to see how some of them do in the flower mode.
Here are some closer shots of the ladies under the various lights. I am very happy with the performance with all three types in veg. They seem to especially love the TI Smartlamp. I had a learning curve with the Solar Storm. I started out with the light close to the plants like the others, but quickly found that I had to move this light up to about 24"-30" above the canopy to have the best results. I am really looking forward to using this in the flower mode!
I did have one issue with the Solar Storm...a bad board causing one of the four light panels to malfunction, so now that panel is only lit with the red bulbs. I contact George with California Lightworks Products and he immediately got back with me and has arranged to send me a new replacement unit. I should be receiving it shortly...can't ask for better service!
And here are a couple of photos of the rest of the girls that I started from seed at the beginning of this little experiment. I have had to juggle plants around due to the bigger plants that had come in unexpectedly, which I placed under the Solar Storm and the TI Smartlamps for a few weeks before putting them into flower. Like I said, very happy with the combo of T5's and the LED's for the veg...hope I like the LED's in the flower room just as well.
I contacted George Mekhtarian, the owner of California Lightworks Products, last Monday (Memorial Day) by email notifying him that there was a problem with one of the modules on the 800w Solar Storm I had purchased from him in February. He emailed me back on Tuesday morning bright and early and said that he would send out a replacement light and I could use the box to send back the defective one. Well, less than a week later and the new one has already arrived...certainly cannot complain about the service! So now I will install the new light with the upgraded boards.
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.